Food markets are open in Uganda. Would you like to come with me?

It looks a bit different now during Covid-19 lockdown with entry restrictions, but this is how it normally feels like. A hustle and bustle as on every market. I love it.

Looking for fresh ingredients to experiment on Communauts‘ recipes for its delicious sauces and jams last May, we roamed Fort Portal’s food market. Communauts is my hubby’s Ugandan company founded to making tourism work for all.

Above we are getting some local onions for the Hearty Chimp Ketchup. In blue and red and in full action is Anne, the lovely and awesome Managing Director of Communauts. Second from left kindly smiling is my hubby and behind Anne is – seriously checking out the products – the best driver-guide you can go for in Uganda, Sunday from Always Sunday Safaris.

Next up: Tomatoes.
The ladies bring them to the markets on boda bodas – motorcycle taxis – in these bigger baskets protected by banana and other leaves as you see below. Everyday and natural African upcycling, I’d say. As bananas are a staple food and grow in every garden in this region, there are lots and lots of banana leaves. Read more about bananas in one of the most favorite blogpost on my site.

Once on the market, the tomatoes are being portioned into smaller baskets. You buy them by the basket.

Anne checks on the bottom ones in the pic below. Sometimes people are cheeky and put bad ones right there. But all are good, we go for this lady’s tomatoes. You know, it happens also here in Switzerland and pretty sure all around the globe, on the bottom of a package you can find unripe or too ripe fruits and veggies.

Should you not have your own packaging, then it is also being sold on the market.

Talking packaging, sorting through these pics I realised how plastic is  n o w h e r e  to be seen in these images. Wow! Look at all the different ways people on this market get their things wrapped and transported. Banana leaf, rice bags, baskets. Anne, of course, also brought her own baskets. Something I do as well and it is such an easy way to avoid plastic bags.

Look, the salad is also wrapped in parts of a banana leaf. Terrific.
It does not mean there is no plastic at all. But it means plastic is not the main choice and I think that is really cool.

Awww, this arrangement. Maybe you should also know that just half an hour before I took this shot, there was a tropical pour down. The market opened a little later that day, just as the clouds started to make way to the sun. The tiny thingies, I learnt, are very bitter but really healthy. I just love how this display looks.

Where were we? Ah, we still needed fruits for the jams and we made sure we also brought some avocados and an extra portion of pineapples home :0). I mean, Ugandan avocados are huge. Cut open on a plate you may get an idea on how big they are, very easily 20 cm long. One avocado feeds several people or me when I am around ;-). No need to add that they are incredibly delicious.

Now, I am hungry. What about you?

I recommend you get some more mouth-watering impressions by visiting Communauts’ website: www.communauts.org and marvel at their products, which are available now in Uganda, and scroll through the news.

Maybe going bananas is also something for you ;0). It is a story about the staple food in Uganda.

Stay safe everyone, hang in there, and look to the bright side

Daniela